Sunday, October 14, 2007

Whoosh!@Waterfront City

After our attempts with wakeboarding, we decided to try our hands at cable-skiing. Jane, the super-organizer, managed to throw the disparate groups into a team of 10. It was a day of stupendous fun!

We started early dawn, gathered at Haborfront Cruise Center at the ungodly 0730 hour to hail a ferry across to the island of Batam.

Early Birds

The waiting game...

Felix and David on board the Ocean Flyte, onwards and beyond!

Jane, Sandy and Alan seated comfortably in air-conditioned comfort...

Me and my telepathetic other...

Hello Batam!

(..to be updated with Jane's photos)

A 2 minute bus-ride from the Batam Ferry Terminal brought us to Waterfront City, a Cable Ski Park set up by some adventurous Singaporeans. Anyway, I don't think we have much photos either because most of us are busy either queuing, falling into the waters or cable-skiing. It was only when Sandy decided to take a break and lounge around, did we manage to get any pictures of us on the water.

We started out with kneeboarding. Basically, you kneeled into a prostrating position, somewhat like the picture below, and get dragged along the cable-ski circuit.

It is pretty easy and fun, and all you need to do is to pull the handle to steer. The first time I tried it, I saw Sandy immersed in the water at Point Five. Uncertain how I might avoid running over her, I let go and sunk somewhere near her. She was kinda panicking because despite doing breaststroke, she felt she wasn't getting anywhere. It must have been a hilarious sight, since I was pretty much a non-swimmer myself and I was trying to get me, her, and our 2 boards onshore. Thankfully, a guy fell near us shortly and managed to drag her and her board up instead.

That's when they are all dry...

After kneeboarding, we began the intensive session of falling into waters while learning how to stand on the cable ski. Although the equipment is pretty much like wakeboarding, the process of getting up is much different. Firstly, there is the inertia and the jerky start. In wakeboarding, we get pulled up gradually while submerged in water. Jane seemed disappointed how our wakeboarding experienced failed to translate to any bonus points in terms of cable-skiing.

Worse, it began to pour heavily! So, while enduring the cold, Jane became more determined to, in her own words, make it count. I was sufficiently happy to be in good company, and it was a Saturday! Never mind if we had to keep falling. Cliche as it can be, it is after much falling that we learnt how to stand, no? So, I constantly had to shake her to snap her out of her stressed mode.

In the midst of our watery fun...

Felix and David strutted their stuff...

We made little baby steps and pretty much near the end of the day, I was able to do rounds through the circuit. At first, I was pretty much getting flipped out of the board the moment the handle flipped. Then I began falling a little further. Then I was finally able to stand and made my way to Point One.

Felix, that bugger, was up in a jiffy.

That's me, in a not very glam posture apparently.

Eugene, my kpkb neighbor, as the crouching tiger.

Alan, the one who must fall with style

Falling at Points One, Two and Three means having the opportunity to hitch a ride back on the motorbikes. That, I think, is pretty cool. Ha. I had the opportunities to hitch a ride with the ahmads for three times and each time, the ahmad made funny conversation with me in Bahasa.

When I was able to learn how to react to the jerks and pulls at the corners, I was beginning to relish the rush of wind that blows across my face at those points, giving me a whoosh of adrenaline all over. Instead of dreading those corners like I did at the beginning, I was beginning to look foward to them. Points Four and Five were especially exhilirating, giving you sharp centrifugal forces that spins you right around the corner. It was an awesome, sensation, really.

I had good fun and kept going until the crew had to whistle for me to stop. My arms were aching at the end of it but I would definitely come back to learn the other equipment. Yeeha.

Here is a sneak peek from David's Camera.

Felix and a lovely pup called Larry

The Three Musketeers!

Jerv, me, Alan and David

Enroute back via the ferry, the lot of us were simply starving. We were hungry enough for Sandy to quip "I CAN EAT A COW" although she doesn't eat beef.

The lot of us, excluding Jane who remained in Batam for a rendevous. Woo.

We eventually settled our dinner at White Dog Cafe. The food was pretty good, but that could be because we were all starving.